Sisterly Love And Liberation
by BiteTheHand
Summary: An insight into the release of Hermione Granger's angst , she's liberated at last! After an incident involving Hermione's teeth she starts a new life with an unsuspected friend.
1. That Fateful Day

Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling owns Harry Potter!

This story follows on from the fourth book in the extract below.

_

* * *

"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted. "-and he hit Goyle – look"_

_"Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly._

_"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said. "Look!"_

_He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth – she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was proving difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were doubled up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back._

_Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference."_

* * *

It felt like a lifetime as Hermione swung back her head violently, teeth in plain view of everyone staring.

"No!"

"Grarr!"

Harry and Ron grimaced speechlessly as Hermione plunged her new beaver-esque teeth into Snape's shoulder.

"Oww!" roared Snape roared in agony. "SHIT! Crap!"

Ron and Harry wrenched Hermione's bloody teeth from Snape's flesh. It tore as Hermione was shoved back roughly against the blood-spattered wall.

Blood gushed mercilessly from two gaping puncture wounds in Snape's shoulder. He staggered away from Hermione, his face horrified as he felt the drenched patch.

Hermione struggled frantically from her friends grip to stumble against a low tapestry in hysterics, wide eyed goggling at Snape terror stricken.

"Bollocks," she said, realising what she had just done.

_Clunk._

Hermione's eyes slid out of focus gracelessly. She slumped to the floor.

Knocked out.

Draco Malfoy had slammed her in to head with a garden gnome, the nearest object he could find.

* * *

Gregory Goyle left the hospital wing with his grotesque boils newly removed leaving two sick beds occupied. 

In one bed lay Severus Snape, his puncture wounds now reduced to scars that looked several days old, he was staying in due to loss of blood.

Hermione was in the second bed, Madam Pomfrey had taken the liberty of shrinking her teeth whilst she was still unconscious. She was suffering effects of those similar to a bad hangover, but caused by being hit in the head with a gnome rather than getting drunk.

Hermione's eyes opened as she awoke, she was aware of a huge bruise forming on the back of her head. She did not appreciate Draco 'avenging' Snape. Hermione peered over at Snape, a fraction of a lifetime's worth of pent-up anger had been put into her beaver bite. Hermione Granger the calm one had gone. In her opinion the gnome had knocked some sense into her.

"_Oi_," Hermione hissed at Snape. "Oi you!"

Snape awoke, rearranging his dull features into his usual bored expression. He regarded Hermione.

"What? You do know, Miss Granger, you'll most likely be expelled," he said bluntly.

"I quit, _sir_. I'm clever – cleverer than you - mostly, you make poww-shuuns!" Hermione said in a dazed voice.

She closed her eyes and laughed softly to herself.

"You have just been hit in the head by a flying gnome. You're certainly at your wittiest!"

"You're a _wanker_, sir!" Hermione told Snape truthfully. "And you should mind your language too, sir."

She fell asleep instantly to dreams of her truthful new liberated self.

* * *

_To be continued…_


	2. Pretendingtobeasleep

Ron and Harry joined Hermione's side as she slept.

"She's really done it this time -" Ron started shakily.

"She hasn't!" Harry insisted pointedly. "Dumbledore's put up with plenty of my violent… outbursts."

"What? But you're a boy," replied Ron to Harry, confused.

"Umm…"

"PM- oww!"

Ron had just been smacked in the head by a sleeping Hermione.

Hermione awoke, pushing her untidy hair off her face sleepily.

"What up? Ron?"

She turned her gaze shiftily to Ron who was massaging his head. Harry and Ron turned to Hermione slowly. Afraid.

Hermione spoke robotically as though rehearsed: "I have decided to leave Hogwarts to pursue my dreams – which don't lie here. To start a new life."

Ron opened his mouth slightly making a peculiar face unlike Harry who frowned.

"What the hell's that going to do!" choked Harry furiously.

"And you're so… clever…" added Ron sheepishly.

"I don't care! You don't know me! When I first came to this school I abided by the rules word for word – mostly, too shy to show my remotely interesting self. I'm sick of it!"

"If you're not expelled you'll have to stay anyway. You can't go to muggle school, that's just _wrong_." Ron said in a way that showed he thought he had settled it.

"I quit, Ron. No school whatsoever! I'm going to stay with Miss Bella Lestrange."

"Her!" squeaked Harry.

"Yes: if you ever bothered to speak to Sirius you'd know all about her, she's his cousin, she sounds nice!"

"She's in Azkaban, spoon!"

"She's in Grimmauld Place hiding with Sirius, don't believe what you read!"

Hermione snatched her wand up off the dresser next to the hospital bed. She brandished it in the faces of Harry and Ron defensively. Hermione's chest rose and fell rapidly as her heart quickened its beat.

"Put it away, dear."

Madam Pomfrey entered the ward unabashed with a trailing list in one hand and her wand in the other.

"Now, what do you want for dinner? Beef casserole, lasagne, omelette?"

Hermione screwed her face up.

"Tofu and vegetables! Please!

"No!" gasped Ron.

"Oh, Hermione, not a dreaded fad, you need your protein," Harry pressed.

"You may not know me at all, Harry Potter, but you should know I don't do fads and vegans do get their protein!"

"Okay."

Face crumpling startlingly quick Hermione dissolved into tears to the shocked faces of Ron and Harry. The pair of them exchanged worried looks.

"Mum and Dad don't like the 'witch thing'. They never have done. They want rid of me and to start again, Mum's having a baby, a non-magic baby too."

Ron embraced Hermione first as she sobbed harder into his cloak. Her head was patted cluelessly by Harry.

"Surely you can relate to one of us then, if you really do hate us so much," Harry soothed.

Hermione's tears stopped as fast as they had come on, she threw a furious look at Harry.

"I didn't say I hated _anyone_, you just don't know _me_!"

Harry and Ron left the hospital wing to let Hermione brood malevolently over what was to come.


	3. Worried

Harry and Ron are worried.

* * *

"Balderdash," mumbled Ron before climbing through the portrait hole followed by Harry.

"I do kind of get where she's coming from," said Harry. "We speak to her but that's it."

"I know," agreed Ron defeatedly.

"Knowing her she'll hurt herself, how'll she cope without school?"

"Bearing in mind we don't know her at all, Harry."

"It could be a random faze she's going through," Harry suggested hopefully.

"No. I think I know her well enough to know that's not Hermione."

"Maybe she's got too clever."

"I just hope its not Spew…"

Harry shuddered violently: "Yeah."

"And the tofu thing…"

"I don't think the tofu-thing's all _that_ bad."


	4. Plastic Smiles

Lavender Brown had been plaiting her dark hair. She turned around to see Hermione enter their dormitory.

"Hello Hermione, are you feeling better?" Lavender asked in a motherly tone. "I heard about what happened last yesterday, Draco Malfoy is a nasty piece of work."

"I am feeling better, thanks," replied Hermione artificially.

She gave a cheery smile as if proving Lavender that she was feeling better. Hermione strode over to her bedside cabinet and started packing as soon as Lavender's back had turned to leave the dorm. She packed everything up from old odd socka to Hogwarts: A History back inside her trunk until shoving it unceremoniously under her bed. She still needed to tell Professor McGonagall she was leaving.

* * *

"A week's notice!"

Hermione's face told it all – she was appalled, Hermione had no idea she should have 'booked' a week ago.

"Yes. That's what I just said."

"But I had no idea I wanted to leave a week ago!" protested Hermione.

"Obviously not!" McGonagall said vehemently. "Under the usual circumstances I would not allow a student to leave without parental consent. But as you are muggle-born and your parents aren't in contact with me I just have to _trust_ you have it! _Trust _this isn't on impulse! I've seen Professor Snape's shoulder, Granger!"

Professor McGonagall was breathing heavily, her nostrils flared.

She continued coolly, "I can arrange for the Hogwarts Express to pick you up next Sunday, which conveniently is after the first Triwizard task. I was under the impression you wanted to see your friend Mr Potter compete rather than leave now. You don't know the pressures, he needs support, Hermione."

Hermione bore her eyes darkly into Professor McGonagall.

"Don't look at me like that, girl!" barked McGonagall. "Be at my office ten o'clock a week today."

Hermione slipped out of Professor McGonagall's hard-backed chair and slouched off to the grounds alone.


End file.
